[url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=578&u=/nm/20020726/ts_nm/crash_fedex_dc_3&printer=1[/url]
[b]FedEx Plane Crash-Lands in Fla., 3 Crew Hurt[/b]
[i]Fri Jul 26,10:37 AM ET[/i]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) - Three crew members escaped with minor injuries when a FedEx cargo plane landed short of the runway at Tallahassee, Florida, on Friday, bursting into flames, a company spokesman said.

Greg Rossiter, a FedEx spokesman, said the Boeing Co. 727-200 landed short on arrival from Memphis.

"The three-person crew is being treated at a local hospital for minor injuries," he said. "We're very thankful they managed to escape from the aircraft."

Rossiter said the plane was destroyed by fire.

The airport at the state capital, which does not have any international traffic, was closed after the accident. Officials at the airport said it would likely reopen later on Friday.

Several hours after the accident, black smoke could still be seen rising from the scene of the crash.

"I can't speculate about the cause," Rossiter said, adding that a FedEx safety team was on its way to Tallahassee. That team will join federal crash investigators.

An airport spokesman, Bill Behenna, said the crew appeared to have escaped relatively unscathed and added they were in good condition.

The Tallahassee airport tower was not open at the time of the crash but the plane was being tracked by Jacksonville air traffic control. Behenna said there was no unusual communication between the plane's crew and traffic control before the crash.

Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx Corp., one of the top express package carriers in the world, delivers about 5 million packages a day, between its FedEx Express and FedEx Ground businesses. The company operates 640 aircraft worldwide.

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